Hei. Terveisiä Kuopiosta! Mitä kuuluu?
Hello. Greetings from Kuopio, Finland! How are you?
Welcome back to another week of what seems at times to be a blur of adventure!
Finland has a strong sense of familiarity to where I grew up in
Lac la Biche, Alberta, Canada. Being here, in Lapland, feels like being home so I have had to be more vigilant to draw out the uniqueness of being in this part of the world. Sort of like being in Canada with an European flavour - cobblestone streets like you'd find in Montreal and Quebec City. There is similar vegetation and landscape with plenty of rivers and lakes. The locals I've met are equally friendly and helpful.
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Happy tourist!
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One important difference is that I've traveled much further north in Finland, to the Arctic Circle, than I have in Canada. This is the furtherest point north in the Northern Hemisphere I have been ever! So much easier to travel to the Arctic Circle in Finland than Canada. Oh yeah, there's also reindeer here.
As far as temperature goes, I missed the warmest summer experienced in Lapland in recent memory. Temperatures 'soared' to the low 30's (mid 80's F) for about a month with Lapland being the warmest part of the country. Let's just say the locals are less equipped to deal with this hot weather. It's been comfortably warm with daytime temperatures around 23C (low 70s F) with evening temperatures dipping to mid teens (high 50s F). Substantial temperature shift from SK where it was mid 30s C and high humidity during my stay.
Overall, so easy to get around, ask questions and travel independently. English is spoken broadly throughout the places I've visited. I've been advised that the older generation may be less conversant with English. Local signage tends to be more Finnish than English. Cars travel on the morally correct side of the road (right side). It's been a little challenging getting tourist information as compared to SE Asia. There are far less public toilets available. The public toilets that are available cost about one Cdn dollar to use.
Travel update: I arrive in Toronto Pearson, from Dublin, Ireland, just after 7 pm on Sunday, September 7th. I'm noodling through what I might do in the weeks ahead beyond, that is, the experiencing the gift of spending time at my good friend Dave's cottage outside of Huntsville. And there's the need to renew my passport, of course!
Travel Administration
South Korea is the first destination where I've found it necessary to use Agoda and Booking.com to find accommodation. I've found Agoda far more sketchy to work with. More details below.
Travel Maps
I started the week in Suwon, SK exploring the local fortress and experiencing my first hot air balloon ride. Monday afternoon was spent at Starbucks writing my blog, then it was a quick hour bus ride to Incheon International Airport for my 1:20 am departure to Helsinki with a brief layover in Doha. I spent Tuesday afternoon/evening walking about Helsinki before boarding the night train to Rovaniemi in Finland's Lapland region. I ended the week in Kuopio, the capital city in Finland's Lakeland region.
South Korea: July 4 to August 5. 2025
Inter Country Travel: South Korea to Finland - August 5, 2025
Finland: August 5 to August 13, 2025
Suwon
This street, about five minutes from my hotel, is much touted Suwon tourist destination renowned for its eclectic mix of shopping, dining, and entertainment options. My humble opinion - it needs a good power washing to clean the street, some serious freshening up paint and everything necessary to rejuvenate this street. Walking down this street was an unpleasant experience. It was also the first time I saw homeless people during my SK visit.
'Suwon Hwaseong Fortress was constructed by King Jeongjo (reigning 1777~1800), the 22nd king of Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) after moving the tomb of his father Sadoseja, Crown Prince.There were multiple reasons for constructing the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. The most important reason was King Jeongjo's filial piety to his father. But, there were other reasons: his political strategy to eradicate faction struggles and establish the king-led politics; use of it as a fortress of national defense to the south.'
When I eventually found the Suwon Tourist Information Centre, tucked safely away from tourists, I received what I thought was good advice about visiting the Fortress. The agent suggested taking the trolley ride around the fortress as the grounds stretch out for kilometres! She also suggested taking a ride in the hot air balloon, near the fortress, to enjoy an aerial view.
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| Pardon the upside down map 🙁 |
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| Wall |
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| Walking along wall |
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| City view |
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| Changmyongman Gate |
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| Suwon Jeil Church |
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| Nansumun Market |
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| Paldalmon Gate - a key gate amid a busy roundabout |
What a fun experience! My first hot air ballon ride, albeit the balloon was tethered to the ground with a steel cable! The balloon rises to 150 meters (~ 460 feet) above the ground. I now have a small appreciation what it must feel like to be in an untethered hot air ballon floating about at the mercy of the upper air currents. I'd really want to be with an experienced balloonist for my first untethered adventure!
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| Should I? |
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| Why not? |
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| Fortress/city views |
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| City view |
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| Looking down to winch |
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| City view |
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| Happy tourist, n'est pas? |
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| Fortress in background |
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| More city views |
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| Lift off! |
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| Almost free as a bird 🤣 |
Welcome to the world's best airport. At least, that is what the airport website attests to. The airport was a completely different experience for me than any other airport I've been in so far! I trust the photos and short videos below provide a small flavour of what I experienced during my three hours in the airport. I'm thinking I'll need to return to Doha to experience what the city and country have to offer. The city has an exceptional reputation as a tourist destination!
BTW - I was traveling on a ticket booked through Qatar Airways. I switched to FinnAir in Doha for my flight to Helsinki. I know first-hand the world of difference in traveling between the two airlines. Qatar is far superior in all regards including the seamless transfer process within the airport.
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| The Orchard |
Finland
Approaching Helsinki - Vantaa International Airport
Welcome to Finland! My four country adventure through Scandinavia has begun!
The country was diligent on creating a memorable first impression.
Airport Memory 1: was the very slow process to go through border control at the airport. Unfortunately, we skirted the electronic scanning equipment that looked to be in place, ready for use for the option of speaking with a border control officer. I guess the big plus is the stamp I received in my passport. The stamps are quickly disappearing with the electronic scanning and invasive biometric tracking being introduced globally.
Airport Memory 2: was the extraordinary long wait for our luggage once we were through border control. We landed at 15:15, our luggage hit the conveyor belt around 17:15. The long delay reminded me of what you should expect when you are waiting for your luggage in Barbados. Always a long gap between the time you land and when your luggage appears. Best advice - travel with carry-on only, if possible!
All this to say - if these are my biggest issues in an airport I count myself as being very blessed!
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| Finland in the distance |
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| About to land |
Helsinki - Round 1
I arrived in Helsinki Central Train Station around 6 pm. I had a few hours to walk about as my night train to Rovaniemi, in Lapland, departed at 11:13 pm. Cobblestone streets awaited me, great for that European feel, not so good for wheels on my luggage. I'll be back to Helsinki next Monday, August 11.
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| Cobblestone streets - pedestrian shopping area |
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| Catching the European vibe |
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| Clock tower |
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| Central Train Station |
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| Train station main entrance |
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| Train station main entrance |
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| French fries test completed. Forgot the test in SK! |
Santa Claus Express to Rovaniemi
My travel masterplan was to travel to the most northern destination on my itinerary (Rovaniemi), then work my way south to Helsinki - all by train (which is called the Santa Claus Express). I'd spend the night on the train, in a sleeper cabin, arriving in Rovaniemi somewhat rested after about 32+ hours of traveling. I was unable to book the sleeper cabin as intended so I wound up trying to sleep in a regular train seat. You may want to avoid repeating this part of my travel experience for your own travel.
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| Santa Claus Express |
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| Seating - not so comfortable for sleeping |
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| What I choose to remember on my train ride |
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| My first Finnish sunrise! |
Rovaniemi
I was blessed to have early access to my accommodation so I could drop off my bags. I ended up catching the local bus to the Santa Claus Village before crashing later in the evening. Santa Claus Village.
I initially planned to travel to Kolari as the place appeared to be as far north as I could go by train. That ended up being a bad idea as I did further research. Nothing much to do in Kolari. Rovaniemi was the recommended destination with the promise of reaching the Arctic Circle. And it was with this limited information that I made my travel plans. The unexpected blessing was learning about Santa Claus Holiday Village where Santa Claus has his 'official' office!
Crossing the Arctic Circle is one of the multiple highlights in visiting the Holiday Village.
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| The Village |
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| Rovaniemi area |
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| Rovaniemi city |
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| Arctic Circle |
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| Clearly marked! |
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| And more places |
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| Oh, the places we could go! |
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| Yet more... |
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Santa has many businesses to keep busy
in the 'off-season' |
Santa Claus' Official Office
My lucky day! Visit highlight #2. I found Santa Claus' official office. Better yet, he's taking time from his busy schedule to have his photo taken with visitors. I started on my lofty aspiration of getting my photo taken with the big guy. My aspiration dissipated when I discovered I might have to wait more the 30 minutes for the photo. I did take a couple photos of what I thought were interesting photos that had been previously taken with Santa.
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| Official office |
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| On my way to the photo site |
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| More twists and turns |
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| Anticipation is building |
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| Christmas countdown! |
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| Best original dress |
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Interesting what other visitors expect in their
Santa photo op |
Santa Claus' Main Post Office
Visit highlight #3. I now know where all the letters addressed to Santa go. It's to this post office in the Santa Claus Holiday Village. The post office has its own stamps and postmark.
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| Post office |
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| Post office entrance |
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| Letters received to date - sorted by country of origin |
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How the letters to Santa ended up
being delivered to this destination |
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English only
Hope this large enough
to read! |
I had it on good authority that this nature trail, located on the city's perimeter, was a great place to hike. The good authority included the long distance bus driver and the Tourist Information Centre agent. I met the off duty bus driver at the bus stop while waiting for the bus to Santa Claus Holiday Village. He was a wealth of information. I learned about the local bus routes, how to read the route maps posted at the bus stops and the challenge of using public transportation/buses to reach national parks outside the city during the summer season. He suggested this park for its proximity and its beauty. The Info Centre agent repeated the same advice adding in additional detail on the trails I should take and the places where I could get the best views. The area is also home for skiing during the winter months.
I set off on Friday morning to walk to the park (about 3 km/2 mi), then onto the 8 km loop trail in the park.
I received at least two blessings during my walk. The first blessing was being able to sit by a fire that a group of parents had started in a fire pit. I LOVE the smell from an open fire in the woods. I lingered long enough to soak in the experience and get a little smoke smell in my clothing. The second blessing appeared at the next fire pit I stopped at along the trail. As I was lamenting about hiking without any way to start a fire, a woman and her five year old son appeared. She was fully prepared to start a fire. She had brought her own wood to start a fire, some birch bark as fire accelerant, a knife to cut shavings, and a couple sausages to roast for their lunch. She also had a small pail of blueberries she had picked. Everything I was now experiencing reminded me of where I grew up in Canada and the activities I used to do as a kid. Talk about being instantly comfortable in a new place.
Through our convo, I learned that her and her partner had recently returned to Finland after 26 years in Exeter, England. She was originally from an area south of Rovaniemi, however decided to settle in this area because of its better winter weather and proximity to grandparents. She had found work immediately in her profession as a medical biochemical scientist. Her partner, a carpenter, recently found work after a long period of being unemployed.
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| Interesting statue along the way |
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| Bridge I'll need to cross. Park is on the right |
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| Almost at the bridge |
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| Trail map |
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| So many steps to climb on this journey |
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| Viewpoint |
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| Rovaniemi in the distance |
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| First fire pit stop |
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| Similar to Canadian Shield |
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| Checking in on my progress |
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| Ski hill - not quite Lake Louise or Banff |
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| More facts to read |
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| Abandoned ski lift |
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| Simply beautiful walk in the woods |
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| Low bush blueberries - just like in Canada |
Lucky me. An excellent bakery located one block away from my accommodation! Close enough to visit daily! I had a wonderful convo with a couple while sipping my coffee on the terrace. They were on their way further north to participate in a 10 km run (him) and a half-marathon (her) over the weekend. He was originally from Italy, ending up in Turku, a Finnish port on the southern coast, because he is in the shipping business. They had just returned from a two-week holiday and were playing hokey from work for their upcoming runs. We managed to circle the globe in our discussion given the different port cities my new friend had worked in. They had plans to travel more once her two children (14/16) were out of the house. So blessed to meet all of these wonderful people wherever I travel.
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| Enjoy coffee and treats outside, weather permitting |
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| Welcome to bakery heaven |
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| See anything you'd like |
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| Mouth watering cakes |
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| Warm sweet bread, freshly out of the oven. |
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| Chocolate cake - recommended by the staff |
Oulu became the first stop on my way back to Helsinki because I wanted to avoid traveling the six hours to Kuopio, the Lakeland region's capital, along with the fact the city was on a large body of water, Bothnian Bay. I discovered the city is Finland's technology hub with a focus on becoming a desirable tourist destination (instead of being pooh-poohed as it is now).
The city was a somewhat interesting place to visit. Lots of walking and cycling trails to get about the city. A series of bridges for cycling and walking connect several small islands. Most of the sculptures in the photos below are found on the island where it appears a number of artist studios have found their home.
I happened about an outdoor entertainment area, Oulu Market Square, where you could buy food, treats and drinks while enjoying the warm weather. Oulu Market Hall, a historic building housing small shops, had the best treat of all, a chocolate shop with locally made chocolate products. Heaven on earth!
My unexpected and most welcome blessing came on Saturday morning while I was sipping coffee by Market Square. I started to chat with the couple (and their two small children) who sat at the table next to me. The husband had family in Lucky Lake, Saskatchewan, just outside of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He had been to Canada at least ten times with plans to return to Lucky Lake next year for his grandfather's 90th birthday. He also mentioned that I reminded him of his grandfather - which I confirmed was a compliment! The couple, who were teachers, mentioned they were now looking to move. The short days during winter (about four hours of 'daylight') had become depressing. They were considering moving to Spain or perhaps Canada. They wanted to avoid another teaching experience like they had in India, near Mumbai. Always a special moment when I meet someone who is so familiar with Canada.
I left Oulu unsure if the city had enough to offer to be a desirable tourist destination. I enjoyed my brief overnight visit.
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| Street on 'artsy' island |
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| Looking out to the bay |
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| Street leading Market Square |
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| Sipping coffee by Market Square |
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| Keeping us safe |
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| Oulu street - early morning |
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| Streetin opposite direction |
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| Cobblestone streets |
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| Osprey and salmon |
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| Interesting art |
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| Everyone should have a lion statute in their yard |
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| Rotating on a stream of water |
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| Inside historic Market Hall |
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| Heaven on earth |
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| This young woman was so kind and helpful! |
I arrived in Kuopio around 5 pm as my check-in time was 6 pm. My new home for the next two nights was about 4 km (~2.5 mi) outside the city centre, near to a lake. My new landlord provided great instructions to take Bus 5 which stopped about 150 metres from the apartment. I decided to take Bus 6 which was leaving about 20 minutes earlier. The bus driver confirmed I could readily reach the place, with my 20 kg suitcase, by walking. I believe the driver on Bus 6 is still chuckling to himself about the misleading information he shared with me. Oh, you could reach my place alright, after dragging my suitcase up a steep, dirt path through a wooded area. A muscle building exercise. There are times where I should just listen to the advice I've been given!
The apartment was on the edge of a wooded area leading to a small lake. Wonderfully quiet place to be.
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Path through woods to lug my suitcase.
Much steeper in lower parts! |
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| Sunset from my balcony |
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Administration
South Korea was the first country where I discovered Booking.com was far less helpful with finding accommodations. Far fewer local hotels had their own websites to book rooms (or I was simply unable to find the websites!). I discovered Agoda had more options to choose from. What I disliked about Agoda was how the number of 'fake' reviews with high ratings I read through used to inflate the hotel's customer rating. I found several instances where the same person had entered multiple ratings. I also disliked what I thought was misleading discounted nightly rates where Agoda would refund money after a 60 day period. Finally, their practice of excluding taxes and fees in the initial quoted rate made making comparisons more time consuming. While I booked a few places through Agoda, I always 'held my breath' on what the hotel experience might be. Thank goodness that everything worked out ok. Buyer beware!
Next Week
I'm back in Helsinki on Monday afternoon after one last night in Kuopio. I fly to Bergen, Norway early Wednesday morning for the next three nights to explore the fjiords. Stavanger, Norway, south of Bergen on the west coast, is my final destination for the week.
I'd be delighted and honoured to 'see you' next week! Stay happy and healthy!
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